To Love You Forever
by cd-and-tl1917
Summary: When Alice slips up about Edwards long forgotten human love, old wounds will emerge, the girl he once loved will be the reason he once left Bella.
1. Alice Slips up

_To Love You Forever_

Hey guys, it's chapter one! Yay! This chapter is pretty much setting up for the story and the introduction to the main setting of the story. Chapter written by CD and Edited by TL.

Years, dates, and other facts changed to fit our story.

_--_

_"Omigod, I don't believing Bryan's cheating on Emma with Kelly! And after what Kelly did to Josh last year…"_

I only listened for a second more before losing interest and moving on to my next victim, who was thinking about the meaning of life. Although this was much more interesting than Bryan and Kelly's love affair, my mind soon began to wonder.

It was a quarter 'til four, and I was sitting in the school library, a dusty room with nauseous fluorescent lighting and dusty brown carpets, while Bella Swan, my life and my love, sat across from me, working on her science project. While she was preoccupied, I had indulged in one of my secret pleasures: mind reading, a skill I had acquired when I became a vampire, back in 1917.

Suddenly, Bella, with a weary look on her face, said, "I think my brain has officially fried. Let's go." She smiled up at me, and I smiled back. Although Bella often told me about my "godlike beauty", she didn't realize how beautiful, how precious and delicate she was to me.

I carried her books outside to the parking lot, where Alice was waiting for us in my shiny silver Volvo. As we drove home at breakneck speeds, Alice began chatting idly with Bella to fill the silence. I only half listened; I was completely absorbed in my own thoughts. Although I heard Alice and Bella talking, I didn't register what they were talking about until Bella say, jokingly, "I'm sure he had girls falling all over him back then, right?"

"No," Alice replied with a smirk. "Well, only one, this one girl named--"

"That's enough, Alice!" I growled.

Surprised, Alice said, "I was only going to say--"

"Alice!" I cut her off before she could finish the sentence. I wasn't going to let Alice talk about that; it would only upset Bella and dig up old memories that I didn't want to remember.

The rest of the drive to Bella's house was made in complete silence.

Late that night, Bella lay in her bed, half asleep with my cold arms encircled around her.

"Edward?" she mumbled. "Tell me about her. The girl Alice mentioned on the way home."

"Not now, my love."

Although I was expecting Bella to protest, she soon fell asleep. Because I was a vampire, I couldn't sleep, but I could fall into a sort of waking dream: I let my body rest as I completely succumbed to thought. Tonight, though, all I could think about was strawberry blonde hair glinting in the sunlight, of laughing blue eyes meeting mine, of the girl I had promised myself to never think of again…..

_--_

_So what did you guys think? Please review!! _

_-CD & TL_


	2. And The Story Begins

_To Love You Forever_

Hey guys, it's chapter two! Yay! This chapter is an introduction to the main setting of our story and how Edward meets Sophia. Years, dates, and other facts changed to fit our story.

This chapter was written by TL and edited by CD

_--_

The year was 1916, and I was fifteen years of age, near manhood. I lived with my mother, a housewife, and my father, a lawyer. We resided in Chicago, IL in a rather large house in the center of the town. My father was currently working on a case with the Beckfourth family. My father and I often spent many hours of the day discussing legal matters with them; well, he did.

The Beckfourth family was not as well off as us, but I enjoyed their company very much, especially that of their oldest daughter's, Sophia. She had gorgeous blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair that glinted in the light. Many of the men in this town wanted and tried to claim her as their own. She simply ignored them.

Well, as you can probably guess, the more time I spent with Sophia, the more I fell in love with her. We didn't always get along well. Before, when I first met her, she hated me. My guess is that she doesn't like men or boys very much because of the nasty things they often said to her. I would never say anything like that to a woman, but Sophia didn't know that. Yet.

We eventually became extremely close friends, and spent much of our free time together. Most of it on her farm.

"Edward, what shall we do today?" she laughed with her slight southern accent.

"Well, I thought we could go for a stroll through the woods and then we could have a picnic," I said grinning down at her, holding up a basket and a quilt.

She grinned back up at me and took my arm as we made our way down to the woods. I guided her through the forest path and into a meadow speckled with wildflowers. She gasped and ran forward and collapsing into the flowers.

"Now that's not very ladylike, Soph. You could scare away a possible husband."

"Ed, since when have I cared about finding a husband?" Sophia didn't really like being called "Soph". So she called me Ed, and many other rude names, at times.

"Anyway, come on! Lets eat; I'm starved," she said leaning to grab a piece of bread.

We both went for the same piece and our hands met. We looked up, keeping our hands on the bread; she was blushing and I assume I was, too. She started to lean towards me, I found myself doing the same.

There we were, centimeters apart when a voice rang through the forest.

"Edward! Sophia!" Ugh, it was my father.

We hastily packed everything up, careful not to make eye contact. Sophia and I made our way through the forest in awkward silence. When we broke through the last bit of woods, we nodded at each other and made our way to our fathers.

_--_

So what do you think!? Review and let us know!

--CD & TL


	3. Invitations

To Love You Forever

NOTE: This chapter takes place quite a few years after chapter two. No Need to be confused here, What would have been in the skipped years was basically your average sexual tension between the pair. .

Hey, everyone! Chapter Three! Go us! Woot! I'm afraid that, for the sake of the storyline, some historical accuracy was lost here. Written by the marvelous CD and edited by the fabulous TL.

--

I "officially" began courting Sophia in the August of 1918.

I walked to the front door of her slightly shabby stone house and knocked shyly on the door. Almost instantly, I was greeted by Sophia's eccentric grandma.

Grams, as everyone calls her, is a slight old woman with a hunched frame and a perpetual smile on her face. She has eyes of the same azure shade as Sophia's, although one of them is glass. While Grams' grotesque habit of tapping her faux eye sometimes frightens people, she is the kindest person I know. Despite the unseasonably hot weather, Grams was wearing a flannel nightgown and her favorite wide-brimmed hat.

"Oh, it's Edward. Come in, dearest," she crooned. "Sophia, your beau's here!"

Sophia appeared at the door, blushing tomato red, as Ellie, her little sister, ran about her legs, shouting, "Edward and Sophia, sitting in a tree!" Sophia's blush darkened a shade.

"Hi, Edward. Let's go for a walk," she said.

I agreed, and, as we strolled through the woods, we made insignificant small talk until I brought the conversation to the topic of this Friday night, which was the reason why I had come in the first place.

"So, Sophia, um…" Despite myself, I couldn't help feeling a little shy. "Do you have any plans for this Friday?"

"No. Why?" Her intense blue eyes looked up at mine. I diverted my gaze to the ground and continued in a rush, as if I had to get all the words out now or I would lose my nerve.

"Well, um… My father's having this big party with a bunch of his friends from the law firm, and he said I could invite a few friends… Would you… like to come?" Silence. "Of course, you don't have to come if you really don't want to-"

"No, Ed. I want to." She looked up at me again, her eyes uncharacteristically serious. "That just came as a bit of a shock, but… Of course I'll go." She smiled up at me, and I beamed back down at her.

"Now, whatever will I wear?" she joked.

The rest of the week passed slowly, and the prospect of Friday night seemed dauntingly far away. School seemed to pass particularly slowly each day, though work alleviated some of the monotony.

Although my family already had a vast store of money saved in the bank, my father had forced me to take a job.

"You need to learn responsibility!" he would say. Father, who had many friends in high places, used his connections to secure me a job at _Paul's Barber_, a swank barber shop where all the upper-class people blew their money on the latest trendy hairstyles. Although sweeping up hair and sharpening razor blades all day is not too exciting, most of the customers are old gossips, and one can hear all manner of rumors and scandals at _Paul's._

One day, as I was giving Mr. Garret, a wealthy banker and notorious bigmouth, a shave, I listened in on his conversation with the jeweler, Mr. Carter.

"The missus and I are going to visit some relations in Lansing this weekend," said Mr. Garret.

"Shall you be passing through Dolton on the journey?" asked Mr. Carter.

"Heavens, no! The entire town must be contagious!" Carter looked puzzled, and Garret threw him an exasperated look. "Haven't you heard of the epidemic? Spanish flu is ravaging through the town; half of the infected are dying! If I went there, I'd bring back the germ and infect all of Chicago! Then we'd have a real epidemic on our hands!"

The pair lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, for which I was grateful; shaving Mr. Garret as he carried on so had been rather impossible. I figured that Mr. Garret was just overreacting; it was just the influenza; nothing to worry about.

How wrong I was.

Friday came and, in an itchy tailcoat and bowtie, I awaited seven o'clock, when I would go pick Sophia up.

Meanwhile, my mother flitted about me, crooning over how handsome I looked, how proud she was of me.

After several minutes of this, Mother began to irk me, and, as the clock struck seven, I bade her a hasty good-bye and fairly ran out of the house.

"Hello, Peter. Hurry in; dinner's almost ready."

Grams was sitting on the porch of Sophia's house, knitting and humming "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". When she called me Peter, she was referring to her own son, who had died at the age of 14.

I let myself in and stood awkwardly in the doorway; unsure of whether to call Sophia or wait until she came.

I didn't have to wait long, though. Down the stairs came flying Sophia. She skidded to a halt when she saw my and murmured a quiet, "Hi."

Although it's not normally in my nature to take great notice of other's appearance, I couldn't help notice how positively _radiant_ Sophia looked. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun, although a few wavy locks framed her face. Her dress was of the softest blue, which complimented her eyes. And her eyes: they were sparkling in the light, looking up at mine.

Shyly, I offered her my arm, and equally shyly, she accepted it. Through the rapidly darkening streets of Chicago, we made our way to my house.

_--_

So what do you think!? Review and let us know!


	4. Parties and Patients

To Love you Forever

Hey Everyone sorry for the lag in writing… that would be my fault. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Written by TL and edited by CD.

-TL

--

We were greeted in the entrance hall by my mother and father. They looked ecstatic that I had a date for their party. Sophia curtsied gracefully and took my arm. The entire hall was full of couples spinning and dancing. The band was tucked away in the corner playing a slow and sweet song.

"May I have this dance?" I looked down at her. She was mesmerized by the swirling colors of the dresses. She looked up.

"You can have whatever you want. . ." she whispered. "But why do you want me?"

Her question caught me off guard. A simple question could completely change a night.

"Don't you understand? You're beautiful, smart, funny, and most of all, you're you."

She sniffled and took my hand. Ugh, women. Nothing my father ever told me prepared me for this.

"Here, let's go take a walk." I led the way through the halls and out the back door, away from prying eyes. We made our way to my favorite spot. An oak tree I used to climb as a child. When I needed to think, this is where I went.

"Edward?" Her laughing blue eyes were dim and full of tears. "I know we've been friends for a long time but. . . Remember that one day when you took me to the woods and we had a picnic?"

Oh no. It's going there, "Yes I do, What about it?"

She suddenly looked up at me.

"Do you love me?"

"I-I. . ."

A scream cut through the air. Instinctively, I grabbed Sophia's hand and dragged her with me as I began running through the darkness, towards the house, where the scream had come from.

In the middle of the hall, a mob had formed a circle in the middle of the room. Sophia, now clinging to my arm, struggled to see over the crowd. I, being the host, pushed my way through the multitude with Sophia in pursuit. What I saw in the center left my blood running cold.

Tom Brewster, a friend of my father's, was lying on the ground, his face a sickly blue tint, and his eye's were blank and cold._. _A young woman, about Sophia's age, was clinging to his immobile shoulder, screaming wordlessly.

Another man, presumably a doctor, shoved his way through the crowd and knelt over the man, Mother and Father following close behind. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, the man looked up at me with shockingly golden eyes.

"It's the epidemic," he announced.

The crowd gasped in horror and started rioting towards the door, trying to escape the horrible contaminated air. Amidst the confusion, I grabbed Sophia and fairly dragged her back into the garden.

"Edward, we have to get back in there and help him," Sophia pleaded, tears snaking down her face.

"I can't take that risk with you, Sophia. You mean to much to me."

She gasped and looked up at me in the most loving way, the pandemonium inside forgotten.. It was then when I realized that I was beginning to fall in love with her.

"So, Edward, Do you love me?"

--

Thanks for reading everyone! Reviews are loved!

-TL & CD


	5. Empty Shell

A thousand apologies for the lack in updating, it was CD's fault this time. Many thanks to those who have taken the time to review, it's greatly appreciated! Written by CD and edited by TL.

--

The clock read 11:23.

It was amazing how much could happen in only a few hours.

I peeled off my tailcoat and threw it shamelessly on the floor before I flopped on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

Images of the past day flooded my mind: Sophia in her radiant blue dress, Mother's eyes sparkling as she told my how handsome I looked, the elegant swirling skirts of the party guests dancing the foxtrot. And then, unbidden, the gruesome image of Thomas Brewster's cold, lifeless body.

After Thomas passed out, the entire house fell into a state of panic. The guests had stampeded for the door, trying to rescue their loved ones from the contaminated air, leaving only a handful of bewildered people; among them were Thomas' sweetheart, who's name was discovered to be Evelyn Walker, Sophia, my parents, and the strange doctor that no one seemed to know.

The doctor introduced himself as Carlisle Cullen and asked my parent's for a spare room where he could examine and treat Thomas, and my parents hurriedly showed him off to one of the spare rooms.

Evelyn was in hysterics, curled up in a fetal position on the floor, repeating over and over again, "It's all my fault. All my fault."

Sophia gently took her hand, leading her off to the hallway, speaking under her breath in a comforting manner.

Which left me all alone.

The sheer anxiety and terror of the situation had pushed out all thoughts from my mind and my brain had completely shut down, leaving an empty shell of a body to sit on the floor for what could have been five minutes or five hours. Then Dr. Cullen entered the room.

He looked exhausted and his white shirt was dotted with blood. Quietly, gently, he said, "Tom didn't make it."

I just nodded. Dr. Cullen sighed and left the room.

Later, alone in my room, I felt so weak and vulnerable. Someone once said, "A man has no more character than he can command in crisis." _Considering how pathetically I acted during this crisis, _I thought, _I must have very little character at all. I could have tried to help, could have saved a man's life, but instead, I just sat there like a helpless child. What does that say about me? _I heard Sophia's voice, uncharacteristically small and thin, "I guess it just couldn't be helped, Ed."

After Dr. Cullen had left, Sophia entered the room.

Without a word or an invitation, Sophia sat down next to me.

"Evelyn's asleep," she mumbled, before collapsing, in tears, on my lap. "It was so sad, Edward! Evelyn thought it was all her fault, because-" she sobbed and gasped for breath-"she brought him here, even though he didn't feel to good. And now she says she's going to get sick and die too!" She lapsed into a wordless jumble of sobs and tears. Unthinkingly, I stroked her hair out of her face and said such soft, meaningless comforts as "It's all right. It's going to be ok." How long we sat like this, I'm not sure, but Sophia's racking sobs eventually faded to soft hiccups and then to silence. Then she continued on with her story.

"And then he died. Evelyn was asleep by then, thank God, I don't know how she would have taken it. I guess it just couldn't be helped, Ed."

I was afraid Sophia was going to start crying again, and I didn't want to see her like that. I gathered her small frame in my arms and held her to me, breathing in the clean scent of her hair. The chaos around us forgotten, her lips met mine.

In my room, I replayed over those few seconds over and over again in my head.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in", I said in a groggy voice.

It was my mother. Judging from the look on her face, she was completely exhausted. She gave me a hug and murmured, "Try to get some sleep, honey. You'll feel better in the morning." With her simple, understated grace, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, a cough escaping from her mouth.

--

Reviews are loved!

-TL & CD


	6. Another Time

**Woot! Chapter 8! Go us! This was written by CD and edited by TL.**

**--**

The next few days stick out vividly in my memory. Word was sent to Sophia's parents, and they reluctantly agreed to let Sophia stay. The two of us were together constantly, and I got to know her better than I had ever known anyone.

Of course, all was not well. Father worked late hours at the law firm, mumbling about how the war was affecting the economy. And Mother complained of headaches and spent hours of the day in bed. At the time, we just passed it off as stress. 

The fever was still ravaging through the city, but our family was, for the most part, untouched.

Or so we thought.

One Sunday afternoon, Sophia and I were taking a walk outside. The green leaves of summer were bursting into the fiery reds and cheerful oranges of autumn. A brisk wind cut through our jackets. Sophia shivered, so I offered her my jacket. She blushed and took it, and I slipped my fingers daringly through hers. She planted a kiss on my cheek.

Then we heard the scream.

From the look on Sophia's face, I could tell she was thinking about the exact same thing I was. The last time we had heard a scream like that, someone had died.

I needed no further prompting. Dropping Sophia's hand, I ran back to the house as fast as I could. Panic shot through my veins. I skidded through the front door and fell on the floor. Scraped and battered, I picked myself up and continued running. The screams had turned into racking sobs, and I rounded the final corner, until I came upon the source of the noise.

It was Mother. She was hunched over Father's form, sobbing uncontrollably. Immediately, my mind shot back to Evelyn crying over her dead beau's body.

_No, _I thought. _It couldn't be…_

I wanted to run, to scream, to start bawling like a baby. I most certainly didn't want to see what I knew was coming up next. And yet, as if propelled by some magnetic force, I continued walking into the room.

Father was lying in the floor.

Blood splotched his favorite shirt. His face was tinged blue. He was most certainly dead.

It was the flu.

I could feel the blood draining out of my face. I was utterly and completely numb, the same empty shell that I had been on the date of Thomas' death. Unconsciously, I dropped to the floor in the middle of the doorway.

I could hear footsteps racing down the hall. It was Sophia. She almost tripped over me as I sat on the floor. 

She surveyed the scene quickly. No emotion was evident on her face. Mother's sobs had quieted to gentle moans, and Sophia stepped over to her, wrapping her arms around Mother's shoulders, whispering comforts. Sophia dragged Mother out of the room.

And I just sat there; I'm not sure for how long. After a while, my brain unfroze. That's when the real panic hit. Panic, and sorrow.

I ran outside with no real destination in my mind. The autumn leaves I had thought of as cheerful only a few minutes ago now seemed like some kind of garish façade. I pushed people out of the way as I sprinted down the streets, not caring how I most have looked in my thin white shirt and tears streaming down my face.

The sky turned red, then dark blue and cloudy, and it began to rain. The street lights turned on and nightclubs began to play swinging jazz music. All of the respectable people had disappeared from the streets long ago. And yet I ran. 

Then, I suddenly stopped. I looked around and realized I had no idea where I was. I was freezing and my hands were blue. The adrenaline coursing through my veins was spent, and, exhausted, I collapsed on the ground and immediately fell asleep.

--

I was awoken next morning by the rhythmic thwack of a stick on my thigh. I started and sat straight up. _Where am I?_

An old lady, dressed in ragged attire, was hovering over me, hitting me with her cane.

"Sonny Jim, this is my spot. Go find your own," she crooned. I mumbled an apology and stood up, brushing myself of. The bag lady promptly collapsed on the ground and fell asleep.

The sun was just beginning to rise. I could hear people stirring in the apartments next door. I turned around and examined the building behind me. As it turned out, I had been sleeping on the stoop of _Paul's Barber_. I had been laid off last week because, "Business isn't exactly booming, boy. We've got an epidemic on our hands." Nonetheless, I wondered through the familiar doors. Paul was setting up for the day and an early client sat patiently in a chair. It took me a minute to recognize him as Mr. Garret, the banker. There were new lines etched deeply into his face; he looked at least ten years older.

"Mr. Garret?" I said questioningly. He started and looked at me. After a few seconds of confusion, (remember, I had spent the last night outside in the middle of an autumn rain shower; I did not look like a fresh spring daisy) recognition dawned on his face. He grinned from ear to ear and jumped up.

"Edward? Edward Masen?" I nodded, and he began to laugh. He grabbed my hand and pumped it excitedly up and down. "By golly, it really is you! We were all certain the Masen family was dead!"

He must have seen the sorrow on my face. He stopped shaking my hand and his face took on a grave expression. "Who was it, boy? Your father?" I nodded. "Well, the flu affects every family. I lost my wife and two daughters to it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. If I were you, I would be getting the hell out of this town! That's what I'm doing! Moving in with my brother in Lansing next week. Now, boy, you look like you're about to freeze to death! Get back home!" I nodded, said goodbye, and left.

I walked home and thought idly about different things, none of them too deeply. And I refused to think about yesterday; I didn't want to start crying in front of all these people (again). 

I walked up the front walk of my house. Before I could open the door, it was flung open, nearly hitting me in the face. Sophia was there, her arms wrapped firmly around my waist. She was crying.

"Edward! We were so worried about you! Where were you last night and where did you go and are you alright and why didn't you stay here with us?!?" The words all came out of her mouth in a big jumble.

I tilted her chin up. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a bit of a mess, but otherwise, she looked fine. No, she looked beautiful. I was ashamed to let her see me the way I was: soaking, muddy, and freezing cold.

In response to her questions, I smiled, and that seemed to be enough for her. She embraced me, mud and all, and I kissed the top of her head.

--

Hot water swirled up to my knees. Slowly, I exhaled and sank deeper into the water, resting my head against the rim of the porcelain tub. Black dirt almost instantly created a ring around the edges.

Finally, in the warmth and privacy of my own home, I allowed myself to think about the subject that I had forbidden myself to think about all day: Father. I took a bottle of shampoo and began to lather my hair.

_With Father gone, _I thought, _I am officially the man of the house. We have enough money to last us for a good many years, but it would probably best if I could get a job. And what about Mother? Those headaches she's been complaining about, we'll have to watch and make sure they don't turn into something more serious. _I took a deep breath and dunked my head underwater, watching the distorted images of the faucets before me.

_And what about Sophia? She can't live here forever; it will seem improper. And yet… _I thought about how lovely it had been since Sophia came for her extended visit, and I knew that I didn't want to let her go. 

An image of yesterday popped into my mind before I could stomp it out: Sophia with her arms around mother's shoulders. _That should have been me_, I realized. _I should have been the one to comfort my own mother when she needed at most. Better yet, I should have been watching Father more closely_. I resurfaced gasping for air. The water cascaded off either side of my head, creating little swirls of soap in the bathwater. _If I had spent more time with my family instead of Sophia, then maybe I could have gotten Father to a doctor before he died . That makes twice that I could have done something to prevent death, and yet I just sit like a bump on a log every time! What kind of person am I?_

I sighed and sank lower into the tub, until only my nose was above water. I didn't want to think anymore about it. _Another time…_

_--_

**Wow, that chapter was really long! I must know what you think about it! Was it boring, or melodramatic, or did the descriptions help develop the characters? Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I will love you forever if you rate & review!!!**


End file.
